Taping tool



Jan. 18, 1944. D ALLEN TAPING TOOL Filed July 5, 1941 Patented Jan. 18, 1944 TAPING TOOL Horace D. Allen, Columbia. S. 0., assignor to United States Gypsum Company, a corporation of Illinois Chicago, Ill.,

Application July 5, 1941, Serial No. 401,259

Claims.

This invention relates to a tool for taping and sealing joints, particularly angle joints such as where the edges of wallboard are brought together or contiguous one another at inside and outside comers formed by wall intersections.

An important object of the invention is to provide a tool of simple construction which I will facilitate the application of sealing tape to inside and outside angles or corners. More specifically, the invention has in view the provision of a reversible taping tool so shaped as to permit its use equally well on inside or outside angles or corners and which at the same time will feed and guide the tape in proper aligned position with respect to the angle or corner to which it may be applied.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become apparent in view of the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing, wherein:

Fig.1 is an elevation of a tool made in accordance with the invention and shows the side of the tool used for taping an outside angle;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the reverse side of the tool to that of Fig. 1, the side shown in this figure being for use on an inside angle or corner;

Fig. 3 is a substantially central longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the tool as shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5, Fig. 1. I

The tool may be made of any suitable material. As here shown, it is made from a blank of sheet metal of sufilcient gauge or thickness to render it relatively rigid.

The tool is in the general form of a trowel having a handle and a working head or blade, preferably of sheet material. A fiat central portion ID in the form of an isosceles triangle. extends from the handle with the base of the triangle adjacent the handle. \A wing it extends angularly outward from one side edge of the triangular portion and similar wing l2 extends outwardly in a similar manner from the opposite edge of the triangular portion, so that the upper edges of these wings form an angle therebetween of approximately ninety degrees. with the vertex of this angle located at the apex of the triangular portion l0.

As shown in the drawing, the end edges Ila and Ho of the wings may extend upwardly to form a corner-bounding angle therebetween so that when the tool is applied to either an inside or outside wall corner, at least the ends of the wings will make contact with the wall over the entire length of the edges 1 la and I2a. The tool must, of course, be tilted to insure that said end edges contact the walls over substantially the entire length of the edges and the extent to which the tool is tilted will probably vary, dependent upon whether an outside or an inside corner is being taped.

The angles previously mentioned may vary somewhat, and in a device made approximately as stated, if the face of the tool, as shown in Fig. 2, is placed in an inside ninety degree wall corner so that the apex of the triangular portion fits snugly in the corner in angular relation to the wall, then the tool can be tilted to cause the wings H and I2 to contact the wall along the entire upper edges of the wings; also, if the side of the tool shown in Fig. 1 is applied to an outside wall corner, so that the apex of the triangular portion lies over the corner, then again the end edges Ila and 12a of the wings will contact the wall over substantially the entire length of the wing edges.

At the base of the triangular portion ID a transverse slot I3 is formed through which the sealing tape is fed, the slot being located so as to align the center line of the tape with the apex of the triangle.

By referring to the longitudinal sectional view in Fig. 3, it will be noted that the triangular portion i0 is also bent at a rearward angle with respect to the handle I4. By this means, the tool will conform to the normal working position of the hand of the user when either side of the tool is used.

The handle it may be conveniently made by severing the blank along the lines I5 and I6 and curling or rolling the opposite edges of the handle portion of the blank inwardly until each edge is fullyenclosed, note Fig. 5, thereby providing an integral handle of smooth rounded contour. If desired, a piece of metal I! may be applied along the top of the handle portion to close the handle and reinforce the tool at this point.

A tool constructed as herein shown has demonstrated its capability of materially reducing the labor incident to taping inside and outside comers and also results in a superior grade of work. The tape may be fed from a suitable roll or wheel from a taping machine of the type disclosed inmy copending application S. N. 401,546 filed July 8, 1941, or the tape may be fed to and through the slot IS in any other convenient manner. The tool when made as herein described is unusually rugged yet light in weight and may be made at a relatively low cost.

It will be understood that certain limited changes in construction and design may be adopted without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A taping tool comprising a handle, a substantially triangular central portion projecting outwardly therefrom and at an angle thereto, side wings projecting from opposite side edges of the triangular portion, said side wings each being bent to form equal angles with respect to said central portion, the outer edges of said win s meeting at the apex of the central triangular portion and being so disposed that when said tool is angularly positioned with respect to the corner line of meeting walls to which comer tape is to be applied and is moved with said apex in contact with said line, said edges will lie flat against the walls of said corner whether the latter is an inside or an outside corner, said central portion being formed with a transverse slot in the base thereof, said slot being in alignment with the apex of said central portion whereby tape may be guided through the tool.

2. A taping tool formed from sheet material and having a working head with a generally triangular central portion and integral side wings on the opposite sides of the central portion bent at an angle to the latter, the edges of said wings meeting at the apex of the central triangular portion being so disposed that when said tool is angularly positioned with respect to the corner line of meeting walls to which corner tape is to be applied and is moved with saidapex in contact with said line, said edges will lie flat against the walls of said corner whether the latter is an inside or an outside corner, a handle at the lower edges of the side wings and the base of the triangular portion formed by turning the opposite edges of the sheet material inwardly toward one another, a slot being formed near the base of the aesaess triangular portion through which tape may be fed in properly aligned relation with respect to the tool.

3. A taping tool having a substantially triangular central portion with opposite upwardly converging side edges and side wings Joined to said central portion edges, the upper edges of said wings meeting at the apex of the central triangular portion and being so disposed that when said tool is angularly positioned with respect to the comer line of meeting walls to which corner tape is to be applied and is moved with said apex in contact with said line, said edges will lie flat against the walls of said corner whether the latter is an inside or an outside corner.

4. A reversible taping tool for inside and outside corners comprising a trowel having a substantially triangular central portion, and a substantially flat wing extending angularly from each lateral edge of said central portion, the upper edges of said wings meeting at the apex of the central triangular portion and being so disposed that when said tool is angularly positioned with respect to the corner line of meeting walls to which corner tape is to be applied and is moved with said apex in contact with said line,

said edges will lie flat against the walls of said corner whether the latter is an inside or an outside corner.

5. A trowel for applying tape comprising a handle terminating in a triangular portion with the base of said triangular portion adjacent the handle, said triangular portion having substantially flat wings extending angularly from the sides thereof, the upper edges of said wings meeting at the apex of the central triangular portion and being so disposed that when said tool is angularly positioned with respect to the corner line of meeting walls to which corner tape is to be applied and is moved with said apex in contact with said line, said edges will lie flat against the walls of said corner whether the latter is an inside or an outside comer.

HORACE D. ALLEN. 

